Another layer of protection for Rhode Island troopers

Tuesday

Aug 8, 2017 at 11:52 AMAug 8, 2017 at 1:22 PM

Mark ReynoldsJournal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — World famous for their equestrian-style uniforms, the Rhode Island state troopers looked quite different on June 14, after they scrambled from their routine patrols to make entry to a Scituate school.

Gone were the Mountie-style campaign hats.

The same Kevlar helmets worn by members of the U.S. military in full-blown combat engagements were strapped to the troopers’ chins. Black bullet-proof vests emblazoned with “State Police” patches, covered the troopers’ shirts, obscuring the signature polished numerals that they wear instead of a badge.

The new armor, now carried by all rank-and-file troopers, not just members of the organization’s SWAT-type tactical team, marks an ugly milestone in an era when snipers have felled police officers.

It’s also a time of homegrown terrorism, of mass shootings, when police officers, including state troopers, can bear responsibility for countering a shooter as soon as they arrive at a scene, without waiting for backup.

“Times have changed,” says state police Capt. Derek Borek, who led the organization’s tactical team when the squad joined Massachusetts authorities in the hunt for the men who set off bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013. “People are into these mass shootings that are happening today, so we have to be better prepared for that.”

The process of gearing up, which was completed in May, means that Rhode Islanders are now a lot more likely to see troopers wearing military-style tactical gear with their uniform grays and wielding M4 assault rifles instead of Sig Sauer pistols.

Troopers started carrying M4s in 2014, following three days of intensive training. They received new Protech Soft Armor vests to wear under their uniforms — or with tactical vests — about 18 months ago.

Then, in May, on the orders of Col. Ann Assumpico, superintendent of the state police, came yet another layer of armor: helmets and outer tactical vests equipped with Kevlar plates. The dual layer can stop some types of rifle rounds, including shots from an AR-15.

To some critics, equipment such as assault rifles and certain military-style gear, represents an unnecessary step toward militarization.

Such concerns gained traction in the aftermath of protests that followed a controversial decision in a police shooting case in Ferguson, Missouri, in November 2014. Police in the St. Louis suburb used armored vehicles, tear gas, riot gear and assault rifles in their response to the unrest.

In Rhode Island, state police slowly and methodically pushed protesters off Route 95 after the activists blocked traffic. No one was seriously injured and unlike their counterparts in Missouri, state police handled the incident without donning any special military-style protective gear.

In the spring of 2015, President Barack Obama put new limits on the federal 1033 program that had made surplus military equipment available to local law enforcement.

Under the change, combat tools such as tracked armored vehicles, weaponized aircraft, guns capable of shooting .50-caliber bullets or higher, grenade launchers and bayonets were removed from the programs.

(In Rhode Island, local police had already acquired a great range of equipment through the 1033 program. For example, the Johnston police in 2012 acquired $4.1 million in equipment, from M4 rifles to $19,000 in munitions for blowing up doors and walls.)

“We’ve seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like they’re an occupying force, as opposed to a force that’s part of the community that’s protecting them and serving them,” Obama said in a quote reported by The New York Times. He said military equipment can “alienate and intimidate local residents and may send the wrong message.”

The same set of recommendations that led to limits to the 1033 program also called for police to develop policies for operating in protest environments. The recommendations called for police to “minimize the appearance of a military operation and avoid using provocative tactics and equipment that undermine civilian trust.”

The same recommendations also called for improved body armor for police officers.

In July 2016, lots of police officers and troopers, including Borek, took notice when a sniper armed with an AK-74 killed five police officers at a protest in Dallas.

Updating troopers’ equipment became one of Assumpico’s top priorities following her appointment in late 2016.

The new colonel turned to the state police force’s principal firearms instructor, Sgt. Mark Gilson.

At 51, Gilson is a longtime trooper, as well as a former FBI agent and a gun expert. A graduate of the Air Force Academy, he has experience flying attack helicopters for the Marine Corps and for Marine reserves. He flew in Somalia in 1993 and during two combat tours in Iraq.

Both Gilson and Borek emphasize troopers may carry military-style weapons when necessary, but they are still governed by the same police rules that regulate use of other police weapons.

“Every bullet that comes out of our gun, we’re responsible for that bullet,” Borek says.

The newest layer of protective gear, which Gilson put on during an interview at the state police headquarters in Scituate, comes very close to providing the same stopping power of protection worn by the state police tactical team, he says.

The new gear can stop rounds from an AR-15 assault rifle, Borek says.

The gear cost $237,000 for 250 sets. It was funded with money that Google turned over as part of a settlement with Rhode Island-based federal prosecutors who accused the company of participating in the illegal marketing of Canadian drugs in the U.S. For troopers, the equipment offers “a much greater chance of survivability” in shooting incidents, Borek says.

Troopers, he says, have the latitude to don the new protective gear and take out their M4s on a case-by-case basis when they feel it’s necessary. For example, troopers wielded M4s on the streets of Providence in August 2016 when state police were tracking a man wanted in a triple murder in Puerto Rico.

The state police, at the present time, do not have a policy that discourages troopers from wearing the vests or carrying their M4 rifles in any particular environment, such as a protest setting, Borek says.

Steven Brown, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, said he has no problem with the new vests and helmets, but he continues to have concerns about the M4s carried by troopers and the potential for the unnecessary use of military weapons by Rhode Island law enforcement. He has not fielded any specific complaints about such unnecessary use, he said.

Assumpico asserts that the state has an obligation to protect troopers who “put their lives on the line every day.”

“The safety of our troopers is my primary concern, especially given the increasingly dangerous environment they face,” she said in a written statement. “I’ve made it clear, since day one, that my top priority is to ensure that each trooper has the training, equipment and protective gear needed to keep them safe.”